A Wife Abducted · Part 1 (1/2)
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Evelyn and Harry Destaine had been married for nearly twelve years and were both approaching forty. They were both in the field of productive business investment and had amassed a private fortune of several millions. Consequently, they lived in an attractive residence at a good address and were known to be very comfortably off indeed.
Sadly, this success was not reflected in their marriage itself which had been deteriorating for some time now. Bickering, quarrels, arguments were occurring with increasing frequency of late and both were feeling the strain. This autumn morning there had been a blistering row which had ended with Evelyn storming out of the house and going off to her office in a state of high resentment. She had stewed for several hours and then unexpectedly driven home to insist they have a period of separation. And that Harry leave the marital home as soon as he could find somewhere to stay.
She was a fit, usually healthy woman of thirty eight, figure just broadening somewhat with the affluent lifestyle they were now enjoying. Short, somewhat wavy hair framed a square, usually pleasant face, though it was not smiling today. She wore a trademark, light grey, neatly tailored business suit. And drove her own compact, light green car.
On arrival, she would have parked in their own driveway but found it already occupied by a grey sedan with darkly tinted windows which she had never seen before. Not recognizing this vehicle, she assumed it was some associate of Harry's and this further increased her anger.
Entering the front door, she stormed down the hallway, shrilling, "Harry! Whose car is that in the drive? I've had to park out in the street."
Getting no response, she turned into the lounge, still calling stridently, "Who owns it? It's blocking the entire driveway. Is it one of those friends of yours?" Then she stopped dead, clutching her handbag.
Harry was standing upright in the centre of the lounge facing her, it seemed with his hands clasped behind his back.
He was a slim man, slightly older and somewhat taller than Evelyn. Greying hair framed a narrow face which had often smiled in the past but was not smiling now. With good reason. The lower part of it was covered with strips of flesh coloured surgical tape. Harry had been effectively gagged.
Evelyn stared. "Harry, Harry. What? Who?" Completely surprised, she spoke more quietly now. And then she saw them.
A man and a woman were seated side by side on the lounge. Both wore blue jeans and tight fitting grey green skivvys. The man was tall, lean and thin faced, the woman was shorter, slim, oval faced with straight fair hair. And each wore dark tinted sun glasses. They stood up and walked towards her.
"Harry?" Evelyn looked at her husband who turned slightly to one side, revealing that his wrists were tied with rope behind his back, "Who're these people? What's happening here?" She overlooked the fact that Harry was not capable of saying anything.
"That, Evelyn, you will find out in good time. Or as much as you need to know anyway," said a clear, firm voice behind her. Evelyn spun round.
It was almost as if she was looking in a mirror. A woman stood in the hall doorway who looked almost a complete duplicate of herself. The same age, the same height, the same build. The same wide face, hair exactly the same colour and of the same waved short length. And to cap it all she wore a neat, well fitting business suit that could have been part of Evelyn's own wardrobe.
"Do I look familiar?" this near double smiled. "I took some trouble to make myself look like you." It was then that Evelyn noticed she was holding an overnight bag which must have been taken from their bedroom. And she had her own raincoat draped over her arm.
"Who're you?" she asked. "And why've you done this?" Evelyn turned and glanced at her bound husband. "Is this a robbery?" By now the other pair were standing beside her.
The woman smiled again, "Well, something more than that, shall we say." She walked closer to Evelyn. It seemed she felt that some sort of explanation was necessary. "Tomorrow there's going to be a business transaction with your personal assets. Some of them are going to be moved to parts unknown. As well as the contents of your safety deposit."
"What!" retorted Evelyn, incredulously. "You're mad. Just how do you think you're going to do this? And where?"
"It'll be done at Harcourt. And, all going well, should be complete by this time tomorrow." Harcourt was a well known centre of finance about two hundred kilometres to the north. Most of Harry and Evelyn's investment assets were there. They frequently went there on business trips, usually stopping overnight.
Evelyn could not believe what she was hearing. "Look here. Only my husband and I can operate our portfolios. I repeat, you're insane."
The woman continued to smile and went on as if talking to someone who was not too bright.
"The transaction will be done by Harry and Mrs Destaine. They'll travel up to Harcourt this afternoon, do everything necessary for the removal of funds and should be back here sometime tomorrow."
Evelyn was outraged. "You must be crazy. I'm not going to do anything of the sort. And my husband won't either. You can't intimidate us, force us to go to Harcourt and do something like that."
The woman clearly thought she was dealing with someone slow on the uptake. "You don't understand, dear," she explained patiently, "Your husband will be going to the Harcourt Exchange, and will do the necessary paperwork but you won't be going with him. I'm going to do that, I'll travel with him and I'll be Mrs Destaine. That's why I'm done up to look like you. I've got good forged identification and I look enough like you to fool the people at the exchange. Who don't know you very well. It's all quite simple really."
Evelyn was dumbfounded. Finally she said, "You're going to Harcourt with my husband? Posing as me?"
"You're catching on at last my dear," the patient smile continued. "And I promise you I'll keep an eye on your Harry."
Evelyn was beginning, at last to realize just what these people were planning. She didn't like that last remark and noticed the silent pair next to her were holding strips of torn sheeting which they had taken out of a satchel one of them was holding. "And where am I supposed to be while you're doing this?" she demanded.
"You'll be taken to a very safe place, dear. Where you'll be comfortable and well looked after. You see, you're our security that your husband co-operates fully. That he doesn't do anything silly, like telling people at Harcourt what is actually happening. But he won't be that stupid. Because if he does, he'll never see you again."
She looked approvingly at the gagged Harry, "That's been very carefully explained to him."
"And now Evelyn," she concluded, "It's time to get you ready for your journey. Put your handbag on the side table there. My colleagues will tie you up." With that she turned and walked over to Harry who was still standing silently in the centre of the lounge. Evelyn noticed a small suitcase beside him.
The quiet pair set to work. Swiftly they bound her wrists behind her back and then lashed her arms to her sides and then knotted the bindings under her armpits. The good quality fabric of her suit rustled softly as they pulled the bonds tight. They were very neat.
Evelyn still had not fully grasped the details of what these people were planning to do. She called out to the woman who looked so much like her, "Even if you set out for Harcourt now the exchange would be closed before you got there. There'd be no chance for you to do anything."
Her double looked over her shoulder. "I told you. The transaction will take place tomorrow, during trading hours. Your husband and I will spend the night at the Flag Motel, near the exchange. Isn't that where you two usually stay when you go up there? And I told you I'd look after him for you." She gave a little smile.
It dawned on Evelyn that this woman, masquerading as herself, was going to spend the night in a motel room with her husband (presumably in the same bed) while she was to be kidnapped and taken to somewhere unknown. Though relations between her and Harry had not been good for some time she was outraged at this. "You mean you're going to spend a night in bed at a motel with my husband?" she said shrilly, "How dare you! Who do you think you are?" Yet at the back of her mind was the horrifying thought that at the moment she could do nothing to prevent this happening.
The woman turned away from Harry and faced her. "Really Evelyn, you're far too noisy. And you ask too many questions." To the other two she said, "Gag her and get her ready for the journey. And then get on the way. We've spent enough time here already."
The man and woman thrust a prepared wadded gag into Evelyn's mouth and secured it it with several strips of flesh coloured surgical tape similar to that used on Harry. The lady then produced a lipstick tube and outlined a cupids bow mouth above her taped lips. It was quite realistically done and not detectable beyond a distance of two metres.
Her business suit, somewhat rumpled by the the cloth strip bonds was pulled and patted smooth and the man produced a neat winter cape. This was draped over her shoulders and pulled straight. Finally the pixie hood of the cape adjusted neatly over her head. Evelyn now looked like a practical woman, about to venture out into a chill late afternoon or evening and who had dressed sensibly for the outing.
"You look very smart Evelyn," commented the woman who was to take her place for the next twenty four hours. "Bring her over here where she and Harry can take a fond look at each other before they both go off to distant parts." The couple, both bound and securely gagged, stood and looked at each other over a distance of a few feet. "Harry of course, is well aware this is the last time he will see you if he does not do exactly what I tell him during our time together. But of course that's just what he's going to do."
"Well now," she said. "Time we were all moving." She picked up Evelyn's handbag and took out her car keys. "I'll need this for the role I'm going to play. I've got your overnight bag here with a few of your things from the bedroom and I'll wear your raincoat. After all, I'm you for the rest of today and tomorrow." She smiled, "Your husband and I will travel up to Harcourt in your car. That will explain me driving it. I'll also tell him all of what is required of him on the way." She looked around. "OK, Let's be off."
Evelyn and the man and woman were the first to leave. The bound and caped householder was ushered out of her home, into the driveway and pushed into the back seat of the parked grey car that had first attracted her attention. The slim woman got in beside her and adjusted her seatbelt, then undid two buttons at the top of the cape under her chin. Next she took a prepared needle out of a small case from the satchel which they had brought with them. Flicking back the cape hood she swiftly, efficiently injected the captive at the base of the neck.
It was done almost before she realized what was happening.
She mewed and glared her disapproval but the woman simply smiled.
"It's alright Mrs Destaine. We've decided it's best you sleep for the next few hours. Just a harmless but quick acting anesthetic that'll have you in bye-bye land in a few minutes. Just relax and doze off."
And quick acting it was, Evelyn felt herself starting to lose consciousness as the car drove off. As it turned the corner at the end of the street she looked blearily out the car window back at her house a few hundred feet away. Dimly, she saw the woman who was to take her place and Harry approaching her own car, still parked in the street.
Her double was wearing her own raincoat and her husband was holding the small suitcase she had seen beside him in their lounge.
Evelyn regained consciousness about four hours later. She was unbound and lying, not uncomfortably, on a narrow, tubular steel framed bed.
Turning her head slowly, she saw she was in a room about eight metres long with plaster walls and a smooth concrete floor. The wall opposite the bed had a solid looking wooden door and a high horizontal window, through which she could see outside bars. Across one end of the room there was an enclosed shower recess, wash basin, shelf and mirror and what she took to be a toilet cubicle. At the other was a small table and two chairs. She also noticed there were two other steel frame beds in the room, dormitory style. And on one of them sat a slim young woman of about thirty. Who was looking at her.
"Hello," this lady said, "They brought you in about half an hour ago and untied you. They said you'd wake up about now. My name' s Emily."
Evelyn sat up and looked at her. She had a trim figure, an intellectual face framed by dark hair and wore glasses. "I'm Evelyn," she said. And then, "Where is this place?"
"They say it's in the country, and I think it is. I've pushed a chair up against the wall to look out the window. There's a flat grassy plain out there and beyond that a row of hills covered with trees."
Evelyn felt she should explain how she came to be here. "I've been kidnapped," she said, "To make my husband do something they want him to." She added ruefully, "There's a woman actually passing herself of as me while they make him do it."
Emily heard this with interest and then said. "I was abducted from my apartment four days ago. Bound and gagged, later drugged and woke up here. It can't be for ransom. I've hardly got any family and they're not wealthy anyway. I'm a computer programmer. They keep asking question after question about my qualifications, how much training and experience I've had and what position I held in my work. I don't understand why. I can't see how they get anything out of that."
The two captured ladies sat facing each other on the beds, talking about their situation. Both were naturally worried about their immediate future. Emily did say she had been well treated while she had been here.
A couple of hours later it was late afternoon and starting to get dark. They heard a loud noise outside where Emily had said there was a flat area. It sounded like an aircraft landing.
Shortly after the door opened. The tall man and the woman with fair hair, Evelyn's captors came in. The woman carried a tray holding two plates of cold meat and vegetables, a pot of tea with cups and cutlery. "Supper time ladies," she said cheerfully putting it down on the small table, "Eat up. There are lots of things going to happen soon." They both withdrew. Emily said all of her meals were delivered like this.
The tray and its contents were collected later and the two captives were left to themselves. They sat and talked a while. Emily told of how she had repeatedly asked why she had been kidnapped, there being little hope of a large ransom. She was always told she was going to a whole new life, a more interesting and affluent one than she was ever likely to have in her former situation. This vague statement had done nothing for her peace of mind.
Eventually the two had gone to bed. They both slept in their underwear and despite their anxiety, slept well. The mattresses were comfortable and there was perfect quiet in this country location.
In the morning before it was fully light they were woken by the man and the fair haired woman. They were pulled out of their beds and told to get their clothes on quickly. Evelyn was first dressed and was made to sit on her bed while the lady captor bound her ankles and then tied her wrists behind her back. "Just to keep you immobile darling," she was told, "It's your fellow guest we're in
A Wife Abducted · Part 1 (1/2)
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